To Dance By Moonlight
by Quicksilver
Summary: Buffy/SM.... Tsukino Usagi is visiting the US... in Sunnydale. While some the town’s more unique residents recognize the fact that she’s a magnet for trouble, our little Odango seems completely oblivious to the danger all around. Please r/r to let m
1. Slayer

Quicksilver's Quill Offers   
To Dance by Moonlight   
A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/ Sailor Moon Xover   
[mbsilvana@yahoo.com][1]   
standard disclaimers 

Notes: I make a Prozac crack early on- I'm on the stuff myself so I understand that it doesn't "cheer you up", but this is Buffy we're talking about- she believes that common misperception. No offense was intended to my depressed colleagues.   
This is set second half of the second Buffy Season (maybe after Passion?), and after Sailor Stars for Sailor Moon. 

Part One: Slayer 

The girl had a sweet smile, full of joy and happiness. Buffy looked up from her doodling and tried to hold back a sigh. The girl practically screamed "vampire snack".   
She stood in front of the class, practically bouncing on her toes. Her eyes were innocent and hopeful, and bluer the anything Buffy had ever seen. Her hair-do, though, took the cake. Long golden hair was done up into two buns with streams hanging down to her knees. _Looks like a variation on the Princess Leia theme,_ Buffy thought with amusement.   
The teacher looked at the girl with a slightly flustered expression. Mr. Parnell had led her in only a second ago, and the look on his face had been priceless. "Class, I would like you to meet Sikeyno Yusawgee," he said after taking a moment to collect himself, stumbling over the unfamiliar name.   
She frowned up at him, looking impossible cute as she did so. Buffy had the feeling that everything the girl did was cute. "Tsukino Usagi," she corrected politely, the subtly different inflections hard for the American ear to catch. "I am from Japan. I hope we can be friends," she said to the class, giving a slight bow. Even though her words were simple, they spoke of a mastery of the English language, for she spoke quickly and with no trace of an accent.   
Japanese, huh? Buffy wondered. Certainly doesn't look it.   
"What're you doing over here?" Xander asked rudely, ignoring the frown that Parnell directed his way.   
"I'm staying with family," she answered, then giggled. Again, she flashed an overly happy smile. "I'm looking forward to some peace and quiet- Tokyo is a very busy area."   
Buffy wanted to wring the girls' slender neck. With her thoughtless words, she'd managed to well and truly jinx herself.   
Tsukino slid into the seat that Parnell indicated, pulling out a pen. Nibbling on it, she opened a book and proceeded to promptly fall asleep.   
_ Gotta admire that kind of nerve,_ Buffy thought to herself. Still, her eyes clung to the snoring girl, unable to ignore the feeling that there would be trouble. 

!@#$%^&* 

"New girl? Why do I always get a creepy feeling when you start talking like that?" Xander asked. "Sikeyno seemed really cute and sweet- hard to believe that she could be evil."   
"I didn't say that!" Buffy protested. "I just meant that trouble is going to attack itself to her like a puppy."   
"So your spidy sense is tingling?" Xander asked.   
Buffy rolled her eyes upwards. She and Xander were sitting in the library, waiting for Willow to get out of her advanced Calculus class. The door swung inwards, and the object of their conversation bounded in, skidding to a rather abrupt stop. She smiled cheerily at the other teenagers. "Hi!" she said with equal enthusiasm. Buffy wondered how much Prozac the girl was on.   
"Hi!" Xander replied with the same bright tone. "You're Sikeyno, right?"   
"No, I'm Tsukino Usagi," she replied with what sounded like a long-suffering sigh.   
Xander had the decency to blush. "Sorry. It's hard to get the accent right."   
"That's ok. Call me Usagi-chan, ne?" she said, using a bit of her native language for the first time. "Could you help me find the librarian? I need books for my classes."   
The excuse that had first brought Buffy into Giles' orbit. It was enough to give her an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu, but Xander cut off her thoughts before the willies were able to overrun her. "Sure. Giles is in his office," Xander said, leaving the two blondes alone. Buffy looked at Usagi (why did she want to be called by her last name?) and studied her more closely.   
Usagi was wearing a VERY short skirt that showed off her impossibly long legs. Soft shoes were on her feet, and she held herself well, though some of her movements were slightly off-balance. She wore moon-shaped earrings that had stars dangling from them that brushed her delicate cheeks. For some reason, the earrings really caught Buffy's attention. Amazingly gaudy, but for some reason, they seemed to fit.   
Giles walked out of his office before the silence had a chance to become awkward. "You're the new Japanese student, correct?"   
"Hai, Giles-sensei," she answered with a slight bow.   
"Konnichiwa, Tsukino-san," he said. "I hope you enjoy your stay here in this crazed country."   
She giggled. "You're not from here, are you?" she asked.   
"No, I'm from England, actually," Giles said.   
"Land of tea and tweed suits," Buffy couldn't resist inserting.   
Usagi turned her attention to Buffy. "You haven't introduced yourself yet," she pointed out.   
Buffy had to look down a little to meet Usagi's eyes, an unusual experience for her. Usagi was that short. "I'm Buffy and this is Xander," she said, waving a negligent hand in Xander's general direction.   
Usagi smiled and began chattering away while Giles got her books. Buffy learned that she had left four extremely close friends behind, kept a cat, and was head-over-heels in love with her boyfriend Mamo-chan, who just happened to be studying at UC Sunnydale.   
"One question for you," Buffy managed to insert as Usagi paused for a breath.   
"Yes, Buffy-san?"   
"How do you speak English so well? Aside from tossing in an occasional Japanese words, you have no accent."   
Usagi turned bright red and Buffy watched as the girl broke out in a nervous sweat. "Luna taught me, actually," she said finally.   
Just the Giles returned, carrying a large stack of books. Usagi groaned, but hopped over to collect them anyway. "Arigatou," she said, though a little bit of chagrin was in her voice.   
Giles smiled, recognizing a less-then-enthusiastic student. "I hope you read English well."   
The beads of sweat grew more pronounced on Usagi's forehead, but then she laughed in an overly-loud voice. "What I don't get my Mamo-chan will explain to me," she said cheerfully, then hugged the books to her chest. Glancing down at her watch, Usagi's eyes widened. "Aiee! I'm so late!" she shrieked, and then was gone. Buffy stared at the doors which were still swinging violently on their hinges.   
"Why am I worried?" Xander asked rhetorically.   
Buffy threw him a nasty look. "The girl might as well hang a sign around her neck saying, 'Bite Me.'" 

!@#$%^&* 

Buffy sat in the graveyard, one of her usual haunts. She hadn't staked a single vamp yet, and was getting bored. She vowed that she'd wait fifteen more minutes, then head home.   
The wind was picking up. She sighed, shutting her eyes briefly, wishing that things were still the same.... that Angel was still Angel, and that he was here, holding her the way she had loved so much. His skin had always been cool, but that hadn't bothered her. Some vampires were warm, but that meant they had fed on the living recently- their warmth was borrowed in the most abhorable fashion.   
She was jerked from her reverie by a high-pitched scream. Buffy was on her feet, running, knowing deep in her gut who had screamed. She pulled up as soon as she was able to see what was happening.   
Angel. As though her thoughts had summoned him, he stood there, his game face on, handsome in a macabre and deadly fashion. She remembered kissing it softly, proving that she could see beyond the demon to the man within.   
Now, though, the same demon was in control, and at that moment, had his firm hand around Usagi's slender throat. The girl was squirming frantically and her eyes were wide, but she wasn't panicking. Buffy thanked God for small favors.   
"Angel," she said firmly, stepping out of the darkness.   
He turned around and smiled playfully at her. "Hello, lover," he said, his smile still causing her stomach to turn over. "Pretty, isn't she?"   
Usagi managed to turn those incredible blue eyes of hers onto Buffy, confused. There was a little bit of fear in them, fear of her. "Buffy-san," she managed to choke out through her clogged throat.   
"Put her down," Buffy commanded.   
Angelus shook the girl, causing her teeth to rattle. "I like blondes, though. I think I'll keep this one," he said. "It's the hair." He ran a hand over one of Usagi's golden ponytails.   
"I'll give you a blonde," Buddy growled, stepping forward menacingly.   
"Anytime," Angelus answered. He hoisted Usagi up so her feet were about two feet off the ground. "Sorry, beautiful." With those words, he flung her into a gravestone that was ten feet away. Usagi bounced off of it, then rolled over so she was crouching defensively, watching with wide eyes.   
Buffy was impressed by the girl's stamina, yet still worried about her. Usagi was tiny, and seemed very fragile. "Run, Usagi! Get away!"   
Usagi shook her head stubbornly. "I won't leave you alone!" she protested. "Leave the gaki and we'll both get out of here!"   
Buffy didn't recognize the word Usagi had used, but decided against getting into an argument. Angelus was ready for a fight, and unfortunately she couldn't stake him with a witness. So as much as it galled her to do so, Buffy ran over to the girl and yanked her completely to her feet. "We'll finish this later, Angel," she promised in a grim voice.   
"I don't see why we can't finish it now... with the girl as the prize," Angelus said. "While you may be able to outrun me, I doubt the girl is capable of doing so."   
Buffy felt a tug on her hand, and glanced at Usagi. The girl was wearing a curiously serene smile. "I'll be ok," the girl said. "I believe in you." Her eyes shone with innocent faith.   
It was strange, but Usagi's smile seemed to light up something inside Buffy that had been shadowed when Angelus had changed. "Very well. We fight," she informed Angelus. "Stay back, Usagi-chan, and if anything happens, tell Giles."   
Usagi allowed herself to be pushed back, but her saucer-sized eyes remained locked on Buffy. Angelus stepped towards the Slayer and the battle was met.   
Buffy hadn't wanted to display her preternatural abilities in front of Usagi, but she had little choice in the matter; Angelus was going all-out, his blows raining down on her. She spent the first minute blocking his punches with her forearms, encouraging him to fall into an easy rhythm. Then, as his guard began to slip, she changed the dance by launching a front kick at him. She hit him in the chest, sending him staggering backwards. He growled and started towards Usagi, obviously intending on doing something nasty.   
Usagi, though, would have none of that. She shrieked something in Japanese and threw a paper at his forehead. The paper landed between his eyes and ignited. Angelus screamed in pain. "I- I really didn't think that would work," Usagi said in a startled voice. "I guess Rei-chan owes me I-told-you-so after all."   
Buffy wasn't about to question small miracles. She grabbed Usagi's arm and pulled the girl past her. "Let's go!" she ordered.   
Usagi didn't need to be told twice. She started to high-tail it out of the cemetery. Buffy, though, hesitated, looking at the recovering Angelus. He was still on the ground, and she probably could stake him- yet she couldn't bring herself to.   
Fate is a funny thing. If she hadn't turned around, she wouldn't have seen him. But she had.   
A man stood about ten feet from her, and by the expression on his face, he had witnessed the whole scene. He was attractive, and Buffy wished she could see what color his eyes were. Strangely enough, she felt she should know him- the sense of majesty that assaulted her was hard to resist. That, though wasn't what frightened her.   
His eyes met hers, though she still couldn't make out their color. Buffy could almost feel his alarm as he mouthed a word. "Slayer."   
She jerked back, forgetting about the vampire near her. The man was the greater threat. Buffy took a step towards him, but he dashed off with inhuman speed.   
Biting her lip, she turned to follow Usagi's path. This was definitely not a good thing. Another unknown player had just entered the game of the Hellmouth. 

!@#$%^&* 

Buffy caught up to Usagi outside of the school. The girl was panting heavily and her knees were skinned, yet otherwise she seemed unharmed. Buffy looked at the tired girl. "What were you doing in the cemetery?" she asked.   
"Mamo-chan was going to be meeting me there," Usagi replied between attempts to get more air into her lungs. "Since we're new in town, that was the only place that we found that was private." Her skin colored, and Buffy barely reframed from giggling. It was obvious the two had been planning smoochies.   
Buffy's amusement died unborn. Usagi had gone to the cemetery because her boyfriend was there? And there had been a man who had known that she was the Slayer? Too many coincidences. "Usagi-chan, I don't know much about Japan, but Sunnydale is a dangerous place. It's not a good idea to be out by yourself.   
Usagi just giggled and looked at the other girl. "I can take care of myself." Then her expression grew more concerned. "I wonder where Mamo-chan is, though?" she said softly.   
Buffy could have given her a dozen possibilities, none of them pleasant. "Why don't you go home and call him?" she suggested.   
Usagi flashed the million-watt grin. "Good idea! Ja ne!" Then she was off, her hair flying behind her.   
Buffy kicked a wall, and grimaced as part of it crumpled from her Slayer strength. The girl had taken off before Buffy could offer to walk her home. Her advice about not being alone had gone in on ear and out the other.   
With a sigh, she headed towards the school to re-arm. Angelus was out of commission for the night, but that didn't mean there weren't other vampires out there, and there was a new player in the Hellmouth. She wasn't going to be getting much sleep tonight. 

Next Up: The Girl from Japan- Usagi Starts a New Life!   
Tells how Usagi ended up in Sunnydale in the first place, why she can speak English fluently all of the sudden.... and a few other things..... ^_-   


   [1]: mailto:mbsilvana@yahoo.com



	2. Uneasiness

Quicksilver's Quill Offers

To Dance By Moonlight 

standard disclaimers

mbsilvana@yahoo.com

AN: Part Two, take Two! People actually want me to continue this, so I trashed the first version- from now on, the entire story will be told entirely from Buffy's VP. I haven't worked on this in almost six months, so feel free to shred it.... also, my spell-check STILL isn't working.... *blush*

First part can be found at my webpage: _http://quicksilverslabyrinth.homestead.com_

Quick Japanese Phrase Guide (not Really Nessessary, but it helps a little- Usagi will use these words to color her speech):

_Iiee: No_

Koibito: Boyfriend, serious relationship

Machinasai : WAIT! Sailor Moon usually says this as she makes her appearence.

Part Two: Uneasiness

Buffy was dozing through attendence. There was a seat that was was conspicuously vacant, and she frowned slightly, wondering if Usagi had managed to get home at all. It would be just her luck to save the ditzy blonde, only to have Usagi get captured again. Still, she had been out patrolling until almost four am, and was having a hard time trying to find enough energy to care.

Xander was attempting to give her significant glances, but she ignored him, listening as Mr. Parnell continued down the list. "Harris, Xander." 

"YO!" Xander called loudly, earning a few giggles and a long-suffering frown from the teacher.

"Summers, Buffy," he said.

"Present," she replied, settling back into the wonderful world of inattention. Now if she was lucky, she'd be able to catch up on her missed sleep through this class....

"Sikeyno Usagi," he called, and Buffy tried to keep from thinking of all the nasty things that could have happened to the cheerful girl. Buffy hated to admit it, but there was something about Usagi that made a person feel special and want to be around her.

"Sikeyno Usagi?" he repeated, when no one answered him the first time. "Hmmm, odd. Not here on the second day?" he muttered to himself as he flipped his pen over, ready to mark it with the infamous red ink teachers everywhere seemed to prefer.

Just as his pen was about to touch the attendence record, there was a loud "BAM!" from the door. The class spun around to see the door slam open and Tsukino barrael around the corner. Somehow or other she tripped over Sean Quance's feet and ended up sailing forward in a classic fall. Buffy wondered how the girl was able to roll to a stop in front of Mr. Parnell's desk without flashing the entire room, especially considering her VERY short pink skirt. The entire class just stared at the spectacle, unable to think of exactly HOW to react.

The girl blushed and bounced to her feet in record time, and started to bow repeatedly, apologizing in a mixture of Japanese and English for being late, something about sleeping in, and not having anyone waking her up and misiing breakfast and not being able to figure out the bus system since she forgot the buses ran on the opposite sides of the street and she had been waiting on the wrong place and had ended up halfway across town before she realized she was going the wrong way and...

Buffy tried not to laugh. Usagi was babbling almost as much as Willow did when the redhead got nervous. It was interesting to here Usagi attempting not to mix up her languages, and she almost laughed at the confused look on Parnell's face.

Mr. Parnell finally managed to shut the girl up long enough to get a word in edgewise. "It's ok this time, Usagi, just don't do it again."

Usagi gave him a dazzling smiles and murmured thanks, bowing again. Then she slid over to her seat and took out her notebook and began to flip through it before setlling on a page. Very carefully she picked up a pen (with pink ink, Buffy noted with amusement) and started to write. She nibbled on the tip and glanced around.

The two blondes locked eyes, and Buffy was once again swamped with a wave of surprising sensations. Caring, love, faith, and charity seem to shine like beacons to her darker soul, and it was only through sheer force of will that she pulled herself out of the deep pools of blue. 

Usagi, for her part, just looked at her with a combination of fascination and confusion. Buffy noted that there was nothing even resembling fear, and she was forced to wonder if the other girl was either incredibly powerful or incredibly stupid. Her vote was for stupid after seeing her dash off into a Sunnydale night NO ONE did that if they valued their life.

Usagi was the one who broke eyes contact, shifting her gaze down to the paper in front of her. She yawned rather dramatically and rested her head in her hands, falling asleep.

Buffy glared. She knew that if SHE attempted to do that, Parnell would give her detention.

Xander merely raised an eyebrow.

!@#$%^&*

The Slayerette gang met in the library for lunch, as was their habbit when something big might be going down. Giles closed off the anitiquated place to the other students (not that any of them would have sought sanctuary there) and they would chat over their food, Xander doing his best to steal the girl's desserts.

Buffy was nervous, having had far too little sleep and far too much time to think over what the strange man in the cemetary had been up to. She hated not knowing someone's motives because it usually was a BAD THING. So many disasters happened to her through out the course of her duties as Slayer that she felt she had a right to be a little jittery.

Xander was munching on two twinkies at once, gleefullly smeering the white stuffing all over his fingers in the process. Willow was enjoying a small serving of yogurt with granola, while Buffy had resorted to chocolate- it had been one of those days.

Giles straightened his glasses the way he did whenever Buffy was giving him a headache. Which was far too often, whenever he paused to think about it. "So you saw a man in the cemetary who knew you were the Slayer?" he asked, trying to clarify her tired ramblings.

"Yup. Right after I saved Usagi from Angelus," Buffy said, taking another large bite of her Hershey's bar. She didn't CARE if it was bad for her, she could excused the calories.

"Are you sure you were saving her?" Willow asked hesitantly.

"What?" Buffy asked with some surprise.

"Are you sure you were actually saving her, that it wasn't fake scene?" Willow pressed, speaking with a little more confidence.

"Of course I'm..." she began, but lost confidence before she could complete the sentence. Pieces began to fall into place, and she didn't like the picture she was seeing. "Usagi said that she was meeting her boyfriend, Mamochan, in the cemetary. Maybe he set her up, since I honestly don't think she's capable of it," she said slowly. "Usagi is one of the purest people on the damned Hellmouth."

"Which makes her great demon bait. Maybe her boyfriend brought her over here for some kind of ritual sacrifice or something."

Willow flipped the computer on and started to pound the keys, sneaking bites of her lunch between clicks of the mouse. "I'm hacking into UC Sunnydale to get some information on him. Maybe see if I can pull up a picture or something."

Buffy nodded and Giles frowned at her. "Are you going to have something besides that garbage for lunch?" he asked, glaring at the chocolate.

"Yep," Buffy said, stealing one of the many twinkies that Xander had left sitting on the table, unwrapping and biting into it with a rebelious air. "Any luck?" she asked Willow.

"There's no Mamochan listed, so I'm looking under exchanged students. Just one more sec and I should have it.... ah! Chiba Mamoru- his last name is first, that's the Japanese fashion- age twenty, orphan, excellent grades, pre-med major... darn! I wish this modem wasn't so slow. I'm downloading his student picture, you can see if its the guy you saw in the graveyard."

Buffy leaned over Willow's shoulder eagerly, nodding grimly when the picture finally came into focus. "That's him," she said grimly, reaching out to touch the picture. "I still can't tell what color his eyes are, though," she said, more to herself then the others.

"Okay, so we've played 'Name that bad Guy,'" Xander said, stuffing yet another of the over-processed treats into his mouth. "Now what do we do with that information?"

"We arrange to meet him, of course. I'm sure Usagi would love to introduce her beloved Mamo-chan to her newest friend, right?" Buffy said. "She strikes me as the kind of person who LOVES a crowd. How about inviting her to the Bronze tonight?"

The other Slayerettes gave her nervous glances. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, we don't even know what kind of creepy-crawly the creep is," Willow said.

Buffy shrugged. "The Bronze is a public place. He won't dare attack us there unless he has a lot of back up. Besides, Giles can hand out from above and see if he recognizes him."

Giles looked very uncomfortable with the situation, but agreed anyway. Buffy rose to her feet. "I'll go invite her. Do you want to come, Will?"

Willow nodded and stood up as well, but Xander remained seated, opening up a pack of Ding Dongs. "You girls have fun, I'll see you in class," he said, munching away happily.

After disposing of their garbage, the two girls walked to the lunchroom to find Usagi. They found her in the center of a group of people. The group was one of the oddest she had ever seen- it contained everyone from the nerds and computer geeks to the jocks and cheerleaders. Cordelia, who still kept her association wth the Slayerettes filed as TOP SECRET, glanced up from the snapple she was sipping at with somewhat resentful eyes. "Look, it's the freaks," she said coolly.

Usagi, though, wasn't detered. She smiled at Buffy happily. "It's nice to see you!" she said warmly, waving a hand at the packed table. "How about sitting down and talking to me?"

A couple of the people scowled, obviously jealous. Usagi had a quality about her that made people want to be close to her, and they didn't like the way Willow and Buffy had been able to grabbed her attention immediately. Then Usagi laughed, and everyone calmed down, feeling as though they were being soothed.

Buffy didn't want to be soothed. She wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible. "Usagi, you haven't seen much of Sunnydale, have you?"

The girl shook her head, the long ponytails swaying freely. "Iiee. I've only seen a little, and the little I saw I didn't like," she said slowly, her eyes darkening before she smiled brightly again. "But Mamo-chan and I plan on seeing more of it tonight."

Perfect opportunity. "Would you like to see the local hang out? Me and my friends are going there- it's a great place, live music, decent juice bar. It's what passes for a life in this town. You can bring Mamochan too," Buffy said.

Usagi scowled. "His name is Mamoru. No one calls him Mamo-chan but ME," she said defensively, then the frown melted from her delicate features. "It does sound like fun, though."

Buffy smiled and gave her dirrections, arranging to meet her at eight. Cordelia's eyebrows kept rising, but she mercifully kept her mouth shut, sensing that there was more here then meets the eyes.

Buffy and Willow turned to leave, pausing to glance back at where Usagi was holding court, paying attention to everyone while making sure no one was left out of the conversation. They'd never seen all these groups fused together so well.

"There's something special about that girl," Willow said.

Buffy could only nod her agreement.

!@#$%^&*

Buffy sat in the Bronze at her usual table with Xander and Willow, sipping from a Virgin Strawberry Daquari. The music tonight was good, but none of them felt like dancing, even though the beat practically throbbed through her bones. She clenshed her chilled glass tightly, though she was careful not to exert her full strength. It wouldn't do to shatter the glass and cut herself; after all, she would be Slaying later tonight.

Xander was making some kind of ridiculous comment about how teachers resembled creatures out of the imagination of Dr Seuss when Cordelia siddled over, under the pretext of getting ready to insult the Slayerette crew, not letting on that she actually wanted to talk to them. "So what are you up to?" she asked Buffy suspiciously.

"Up to?" Buffy parrotted innocently. 

"Yes. You're planning something with that Usagi girl. Please tell me she isn't some kind of demon from hell- I STILL haven't gotten the slime out of my clothes from the last time," Cordelia complained.

Buffy looked around, making sure no one was listening. "We're not exactly sure- we think she's fine, but her boyfruiend knew I was the Slayer."

Cordelia groaned and took a seat. "Great. Just peachy," she said, adjusting her thigh-high socks with a pretend pout. "So we get to stop another monster from creeping out of that hole? Like Angelus wasn't enough?"

Buffy flinched at his name, but gamely continured onwards. "We might. Anyway, we're luring him here so we can get a closer look."

"Wonderful," Cordelia muttered, but made no move to rise. "I think I see Usagi," she said suddenly, her face smiling attractively. "And WHO is that looker with her?"

The looker, as Cordelia had aptly called him, was the man Buffy had seen the night before. He was wearing dark clothes that ofset the pale blue Usagi was wearing perfectly, and had one arm wrapped around the blonde's slender waist protectively. He looked up at Buffy and there eyes met again. This time they were close enough for her to get the color, and she wondered why she felt as though she should have known all along.

Blue. Mamoru's eyes were a deep, cutting blue that had seen everything the world had to offer, and rejected almost everything as well. She felt herself being evaluated, and didn't like how he made her feel as though she should be bowing before him, swearing fealty. 

None of the others seemed frozen as Usagi led her boyfriend to them. "Mamo-chan, these are my new friends Xander, Cordelia, Willow and Buffy," she said, pointing out people. "And this," she said with shy pride, "is Mamoru, my koibito."

Mamoru bowed slightly, then offered his hand to Buffy. "I understand this is your custom?" he said in a voice that was more heavily accented then his girlfriend's.

Buffy took his hand carefully, shaking it with a firm grip, resisting the urge to squeeze too tightly. Mamoru kept his eyes on her face, and the others noticed the obvious tension between the two. Usagi wasn't about to have any of it. "Mamo-chan, can you get me a drink?" she asked sweetly.

Mamoru sighed and headed for the bar, while Usagi sat down. "Is there something wrong?" she asked with some concern.

"Well..." Buffy hedged, trying to think on how to ask the girl if her boyfriend had something sinister planned. "Not really," she said finally.

Usagi didn't look convinced, but accepted the comment at face value. "That was odd, though. Mamo-chan usually isn't like that towards strangers. He's usually more friendly. He didn't offer any of the rest of you his hand," she said.

Just then Mamoru returned, carrying a cola, which he handed to his girlfriend. She happily started to drink at it.

"So why are you studying over here?" Willow asked Mamoru, hoping to get some information out of him.

"It's a wonderful chance to see the world," Mamoru replied curtly, not really paying attention to anyone except his girlfriend, who he cats surprisingly gentle looks towards, and Buffy, who he looked at with concern.

The others continued to pry, but received almost no information out of him. When Usagi finished the last of her drink, he held out his hand. "I feel like dancing. Usako?"

Usagi giggled and took it, laughing as he pulled her to her feet. "Do you guys mind?" she asked apologetically.

"No, go and have a good time- we'll see you in school tommorrow," Buffy said.

Usagi waved and the couple vanished into the writhing throng. 

"Did anyone else feel that was utterly pointless?" Cordelia asked the group in general.

Buffy shook her and and wrapped her light sweater around her body. "No. It confirmed that he knows that I'm more then what I appear. Let's get Giles and go."

!@#$%^&*

Twenty minutes later, the entire Slayerette gang (plus Watcher) were wishing that they had stayed at the Bronze. They were quite hard-pressed.

It had begun when Buffy had spotted some actiity in the graveyard. Any idiot who had lived in Sunndale for more then a week knew that night time activity in a graveyard was usually a BAD THING, and since Buffy was the Slayer, it was her duty to deal with it. So albeit somewhat reluctantly, she headed into the graveyard, her friends on her heels.

Bad idea. Angelus was rather annoyed about last night, and had designed a counter strike. Apparently sacrificing skill for numbers, he hurled at least thirty vampires at the Slayerette crew.

Hopelessly outnumbered, the Slayerettes banded together, watching each other's backs. If they managed to stay in piece for a while, Buffy would eventually dispatch the vampires, since almost all of them were freshly made. The only older vampire there was Angelus, and he seemed quite content to watch from the tree branch he was sitting on, clapping like a spectator at a baseball game.

Predictably enough, it was Cordelia who got into trouble first. Two of the vampires closed in on her from either side, and the others were too busy fending off their own attackers to help her. One of them seized her while she attempted to shove her cross in its face, causing it to pull back, hissing in pain. The other used the oppurtunity to jerked her with preternatural strength, the cross slipping from her fingers onto the ground.

"Help!" Cordelia yelled, but no one was in any position to do so.

The vampire who was holding onto to her was about to take a bite of her neck when he was interupted by a voice. The voice was clear and determined, ringing through the night like a clarion bell:

"Machinasai!"

END PART TWO

Feedback, ne?

Up Next: Part Three: Misunderstandings

Things never go like you planned.... and Mamoru Loses His Temper.....


	3. Misunderstandings

Quicksilver's Quill Offers  
To Dance By Moonlight  
standard disclaimers  
mbsilvana@yahoo.com  
AN: Again, rough draft till I get my spell-check back- should be within the week! This is dedicated to three people- my new imouto, SujaKino-yes-I-know-your-name-is-Kari, Sailor Opal, and Anon. Probably these three are my most reliable feedback artists.... Arigatou!  
  
Quick Japanese Phrase Guide (not Really Nessessary, but it helps a little- Usagi will use these words to color her speech):  
Machinasai : WAIT! Sailor Moon usually says this as she makes her appearence.  
Nani: What  
Hai: Yes  
  
Part Three: Misunderstandings  
  
"Machinasai!"  
  
The graveyard went still, and then everyone, vampire and Slayerette alike, turned to see the newcomer.   
  
An angel had descended to earth. That was the only thing Xander, usually not one of the world's most poetic people, could think. Sanding on top of a gravestone was a petite figure with long golden hair tied up in the most unusual buns- the Slayerettes had the feeling that it was familiar, but their minds drew a black when they tried to place it.  
  
The girl had snowy white wings on her back and was wearing a skirt so short that it hardly deserved the name. Her outfit was bright and splashy, and the tall boots and long gloves should have served to make her look rediculous- but she didn't. She looked like salvation personified, and right now, they needed that.  
  
"I am the beautiful sailor-suited soldier of love and justice, Sailor Moon! On behalf of the Moon, I will punish you!" the girl declared, striking some odd poses.  
  
Cordelia was thoroughly not interested. Using the distraction that Sailor Moon had caused, she elbowed one of the vamps and stuck the cross on the other, causing his flesh to sizzle like a sausage. He howled in pain, and Cordelia squirmed free, racing to where Buffy was standing. "Ok, and I thought some of BUFFY'S lines were corny," Cordelia panted, grabbing a bottle of holy water that Buffy had dropped while fighting.  
  
Buffy staked the vampire she was fighting and turned to yell at Sailor Moon. "Get out of here unless you want to be on a vampire's menu!" she said.  
  
"No! I right wrongs and triumph over evil!" the girl said, then frowned. "That didn't come out right..." she said.  
  
The vampire thugs were finally getting over their surprise. Three of them looked at Angelus for dirrection. He shrugged rather carefully. "Go ahead and eat her," he said after a moment of thought.  
  
They didn't need to be told twice. All three lunged forward, almost stumbling over each other in their haste. The girl leapt upwards towards another gravestone, landing on top of it. After wobbling precariously for a second, she found a tentative balance. "That's not NICE!" she protested.   
  
"Whoever said the bad guys were nice?" Angelus laughed at her. He swung his feet idly, looking like a child.  
  
Sailor Moon shot him a glare, but was dstracted when the lackeys went after her again. Meanwhile the battle had resumed, and aside from shrinking the odds a little, nothing had changed.   
  
"This is SO not fair!" Xander complained, trying to avoid a red-headed vampire who looked like Stan Kirsch.  
  
"You're telling ME!" Willow said as she swung a cross at a forty-something female who had been a member of her synagogue until Angelus had gotten his fangs into her. "Everytime I swing one of these things, I'm promoting the Christian faith! I'm JEWISH!" she said.  
  
"Fine," Cordelia said as she started splashing the holy water around. "How about you start throwing some Stars of David like shuriken and we'll see what happens? Just do it when I'm not around."  
  
Willow muttered something that was quite impolite and would have made her parents' hair stand on its end if they would have heard it.  
  
Buffy and Giles were standing back to back, cutting a swath through the enemies. She was fighting using her traditional stake, whiles Giles aimed his crossbow with deadly accuracy. "What is that girl doing?" Giles yelled, watching the oddly-dressed girl bounce around in a remarkable display of timed clumsiness. There were numerous times when the vamps should have caught her, but she always managed to tumble away just in time. It would have been almost comedic if the situation hadn't been so grim.  
  
"Trying to get herself killed," Buffy responded as she pounded another vamp into dust.  
  
"I am NOT!" the girl protested. "I just don't have any wands left! I broke my last one when I fought Galaxia!"  
  
It made absolutely no sense to the Slayer. Unfortunately, that was just the time that Angelus decided that he was hungry.  
  
The new thing was a blonde, and as he had stated before, Angelus had a fondness for blondes. After pausing less then a second for thought, he dropped off of his perch, hitting the ground wearing his game face. "It's supper time!" he said cheerfully.  
  
"Forgive us if we don't watch you do the Snoopy dance!" Buffy snapped, trying to work her way towards Sailor Moon. The vampire henchmen would have none of that, and threw themselves at her with renewed ferver.  
  
Sailor Moon stumbled backwards, trying to find her balance. Angelus smiled and advanced on her, and then the fighting shifted.  
  
A rose struck between the two, and things stilled again after Cordelia staked the vampire who had been trying to feast on her. "Sailor Moon, call forth your tiara!"  
  
"Nani?" the girl stuttered. "I don't wear it anymore!"  
  
"Think of it!"the voice commanded, and then a dark figure plummeted to stand by the angelic girl's side.  
  
"H-hai!" she stuttered, and then held out her hand. Concentrating intensely, she spun around on her toes, and above her hand, a small ring of golden light appeared. "Cool!" the girl exclaimed.   
  
Buffy recognized magic when she saw it, and she had no clue whether this was going to help or hurt them. From what she had seen before, she was betting on hurt. No one EVERY came to the Hellmouth to help. She wasn't about to let the strange magic hurt her friends.  
  
Buffy leapt to the top of the tombstone nearest to her, then leapt again, reaching for an overhanging treebranch. Her slender fingers getting a tight grip, she swung forwards and around, building up speed. Then with skill worth of an Olympic gymnast, she realeased at eaxtly the right moment, propelling herself at the blonde girl who was working magic.  
  
Sailor Moon was just about to release her recovered tiara. "Moon Tiara-" she began to call, but stopped with an abrupt 'OMPH!' as someone deposited their feet in her stomach rather forcefully. "Aiiieeee!" Sailor Moon screamed as the Slayer landed on her, grabbing her by the Odango and slamming her forehead into marble angel that decorated one grave.   
  
"Oh, no you don't!" Buffy snapped. "There's NO WAY I'm letting you get away with casting any spells!"  
  
"OOMPH!" the girl exclaimed, trying to get her face out of the dirt.   
  
"Buffy!" Giles yelled. "There's vampires to Slay!"  
  
"Not for her," a grim voice said, and the sky seemed to go still. The man who had encouraged Sailor Moon to throw the rose stepped forward, and everyone saw that he was hearing a long cape lined with red satin. Underneath it he was wearing a formal outfit, complete with with gloves. Over his face he wore a white mask that covered his eyes.  
  
The entire battle stalled yet again. This time, though, Angelus looked at the man in front of him, and his face shifted, becoming human in appearence again. "Come on," he said to the vampires who remained. "We're getting out of here," he continued, sounding thoroughly unsettled.  
  
One second he was there, the next the ancient vampire was gone. The approximately twelve survivors of the thirty he had used to launch the original assault followed, but no one pursued. The battle wasn't going to be about vampires- it was going to be between the mysterious masked man and the Slayer.  
  
"How dare you.... release her this instant," he said in a dangerously calm voice.  
  
Buffy did so immediately, trying to tell herself that she was obeying because she would have to have both hands free to fight, not because he was telling her to. Sailor Moon lay on the ground, slightly dazed. Her pale was was smudged, and her white outfit was covered with dirt. Willow stepped towards her, but Xander grabbed her arm, holding her back, shaking his head negatively. Right now the only thing they should do was watch, his look told her.  
  
"Who are you?" the Slayer demanded. "What do you want?"  
  
The man glared at her, ignoring her question. "To think the line of Slayers has fallen to this," he said, his voice still even with suppressed rage. "Attacking one of those whom you are sworn to guard."  
  
Buffy blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about? I keep demons and other magical disasters from getting free! That girl could have easily attacked one of my friends!"  
  
The man gestured with an elegant hand. "Obviously the Slayer is not what she should be," he said. "How can ANYONE of pure heart attack the very avatar of love and justice herself? I suppose I have no choice but to rid the world of my mistake."  
  
"Your MISTAKE?" Buffy said, not liking what he was saying. "What are you talking about?"  
  
The man shook his head, denying her an answer. Shutting his eyes slightly, the raised his hands, and around him a storm of deep reep rose petals swirled, reforming his clothes into armor, taking away his hat and mask, unveiling a prince.  
  
Buffy didn't know why she wanted to call him a prince, but her instincts told her he was one. Around her the other Slayerettes had fallen to their knees, unconciously swearing fealty without even being aware of doing so. She held to her feet stubbornly, though it went against all of her instincts.  
  
"I am the one who created you," he said, his solemnly beautiful voice ringing through the clear night air, "and now it is my responsibility to unmake you," he said. Holding out his right hand, he pointed at her. "Come back to me, Guardian spirit. Return to thy Prince," he said firmly, crooking his index finger and gesturing.  
  
Buffy wanted to scream. It felt like some fiber that had been woven into her soul was being wripped free, and it was beyond any pain she had ever imagined possible. With a slight shiver, she collapsed to the ground finally, watching as a glowing golden mist arose from her body to solidify into a small golden crystal, which floated over to the Prince's hand. He gave it a sad look, then waved a hand, and it was gone.  
  
Buffy crouched on the ground, watching as the Prince made his way over to Sailor Moon. Reaching out a tender hand, he brushed Sailor Moon's pale blonde bangs back. "Wake up, Serenity," he said softly.   
  
Her eyes fluttered a few times before opening all the way. "Endymion?" she asked, then sat up, grasping his hand eagerly.  
  
Around her, her strange outfit turned into ribbons, giving Xander his best glimpse of feminine flesh he'd ever seen. The Ribbons danced tauntingly for a few seconds before resolving into a very pretty looking white gown that fell to her feet. Endymion helped her rise, then clutched her protectively before nodding once to Giles. "Tell the Watchers they are disbanded. Their time of service to the Crown has finally come to an end," he said.  
  
Giles looked, then nodded. "Yes, Your Highness," he said, bowing on one knee.  
  
Endymion glanced around once more, then a warm golden light engulfed the pair, and they were gone. Giles sat staring at the place where the couple had vanished from, unable to speak.  
  
Willow, though, finally shook Xander's restraining arm off her own, and raced to her best friend. Buffy lay on the ground, staring up at the full moon. Her eyes were strangely blank, and Willow wondered what had been done to her.  
  
"Buffy, are you ok?" she asked hesitantly.  
  
The blonde girl lay still before finally whispering. "No, I'm not. I'll never be ok again."  
  
"What's wrong?" Willow asked gently, picking up Buffy's tiny hand.  
  
Buffy sat up slowly, as though she was trying to find her lost equilibrium. With tearfil eyes, she turned to face Willow, Xander and Cordelia, who had been silently listening. "I'm not the Slayer anymore."  
  
END PART THREE  
Feedback, ne?  
Coming Next Time  
Part Four: Loss  
Buffy tries to cope with what has been done to her, while the pieces of the puzzle finally fall into place for the rest of the Slayerette crew. 


	4. Loss

Quicksilver's Quill Offers  
To Dance by Moonlight  
A Buffy the Vampire Slayer/ Sailor Moon Xover  
mbsilvana@yahoo.com  
standard disclaimers  
Notes: This is set second half of the second Buffy Season (maybe after Passion?), and after Sailor Stars for Sailor Moon. An EXTREMELY belated birthday gift for the one and only Bejiin. This was started BEFORE Season 3 of Buffy, so you can see it's a very old piece. And my writing in each section is a little different because of the EXTENDED lengths of time I spend between writing them! Hopefully part five will be out sooner!  
  
!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!  
  
Part Four: Loss  
  
!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!  
  
Life went on, Buffy was learning. No matter how important her nightly battles were, the next day came, the sun rose, and she had school.   
  
The sun cast light across Buffy's face, and she awoke suddenly, having had far too little sleep. She had been up to 3 a.m. worrying, and that meant less then four hours of sleep. Stretching slowly, she looked over at Willow, who had crashed on her floor that night. The redhead was sleeping the sleep of the just, her mouth open slightly. Buffy smiled at her, wondering what she had done to deserve such a wonderful friend.  
  
She looked over at Willow, almost regretting that she had to wake the redhead up. Willow was not what anyone would consider a morning person. "Willow," she said, poking her shoulder.  
  
The other girl murmured something about lemon pies and skyscrapers, rolling over and burying her face in her pillow.  
  
Buffy smiled faintly. This called for drastic measures. She crouched down and whispered in Willow's ear: "Look, Oz is flirting with Cordelia!" Even if it didn't wake Willow up, it should inspire some interesting dreams.  
  
Willow sat up, scowling. Her hair was mussed and hanging in her eyes, and she looked grumpy. "Oz!" she yelled groggily before coming to her full senses. "Buffy!" she growled, pouncing on her best friend to tickle her, "It's war!"  
  
Normally Buffy would have had an easy time subduing Willow, but without her preternatural strength, it was an even match. Buffy finally squirmed free, panting for breath. Her eyes were bright, but dimmed quickly. "You know I often used to wish to be a normal girl so I could do thinks like that- have a tickle war with my best friend without having to worry about accidentally hurting her. But now that it's gone... I wonder. What should I do? What does Endymion want?"  
  
"Well..." Willow hesitated. "I could come up with a lot of answers to that question, but most of them aren't nice."  
  
"None of the answers in Sunnydale are ever nice," Buffy said dispiritedly.   
  
"Well, I didn't think Usagi seemed like a bad person- I have a hard time believing that she actually was going to hurt you."  
  
Buffy sighed. "But her ally did..."  
  
"What did he mean, I wonder... calling her the avatar of love?"  
  
"Succubus, maybe?" Buffy suggested.  
  
"Now that's something we haven't had. We had preying-Mantis lady, but no one that actually got their skittles off of..." Willow trailed off as she noticed Buffy's agitation. "Sorry, thoughts took a train to Memphis."   
  
"Well, I need them here..."  
  
"Sorry... sorry," Willow said, waving her hands. "We need to get ready for school- maybe Giles will be there..."  
  
"And explain how the hell he knew that Endymion," Buffy agreed fiercely.  
  
It took fifteen minutes for the girls to dig out the clothing they wanted to wear, Willow borrowing some of Buffy's since she had none of her own. The result was a rather odd-looking Willow, which amused Buffy greatly. "You look like you're playing dress-up."  
  
Willow glared, her sympathy for Buffy's plight only going so far. "Coffee," she said. "Must have coffee."  
  
Buffy flinched slightly. "That's right, you're one of the caffeine poster children. I'm sure mom's making a pot... she usual does."  
  
Willow nodded and raced downstairs, skipping steps on her way to the kitchen. Buffy followed at a more sedate pace, uncomfortable. Things had been tense between her and her mother for a while.  
  
Joyce Summers seemed glad to see the redhead. "Ah, Willow... you spent the night?"  
  
"We were studying and lost track of time..." Willow lied.  
  
"Uh-huh," Joyce said with a smile, grabbing a second cup and filling it without being asked before handing it over.   
  
"I honestly don't see how you can drink Mom's coffee, Will," Buffy said. "Dad used to compare it to syrup."  
  
"I like strong coffee," Willow said, cradling the cup between her hands and taking a whiff of the fresh-brewed coffee. "Your mom's is some of the best. She uses fresh beans and everything."  
  
"Give me a cappuccino any day," Buffy announced, pouring herself her customary glass of orange juice.  
  
Willow and Joyce exchanged looks of complete empathy. "Do you girls want me to drive you to school?" Joyce offered.  
  
Willow and Buffy exchanged glances. "Sure, mom- that'd be great! We're going to go see Giles this morning, so getting an early start would be great."  
  
  
"Sure, let me grab my keys," Joyce said cheerfully. "I really like your school, though.. It's great that you finally found a teacher you can relate to... too bad he isn't one who assigns grades."  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes, relieved to feel a sense of normality returning to her life as she, her mother, and Willow made a beeline for the car.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Buffy newly-found sense of balance was ripped away when she arrived at school and made a discovery.   
  
Giles was not there.  
  
This was highly unusual. In fact, she wondered if she should make a beeline for his apartment, skip school, and prepare for yet another Apocalypse, since she'd been under the impression that Giles lived at the school. Then she remembered she didn't have her Slayer powers, and that seeing that Endymion guy had seriously freaked him out. All in all, it left her confused about what to do.   
  
"Maybe we should call Giles?" Willow suggested practically.  
  
Buffy could have hugged her. Willow's logic always kept her from panicking when simple solutions were possible. "Yes, yes... call Giles... do you know his phone number?"  
  
"There's a phone book behind-" Willow began, but was interrupted by the door swinging open and a troll-like man entering.   
  
Buffy's stomach dropped. He was the last person she wanted to see right now... even going a round with Angel would be preferable to dealing with the annoying, short principal.  
  
"Ah, Ms. Summers and Ms. Rosenburg. I regret to inform you that Mr. Giles called in sick for today... I guess you can't abuse the library like usual, since it is against the rules for students to use school phones to make outside calls," Principal Snyder said, giving them a sharp smile, showing slightly pointy teeth.  
  
"Giles is sick?" Buffy echoed in disbelief.   
  
"He has plenty of sick days accumulated since he never takes them, so there's no problem with it, is there?" Snyder asked.  
  
"No, no... no problem!" Willow rambled.  
  
"Shouldn't you be doing prep work for your classes?" Snyder suggested gently. There was almost a fondness as he looked at the redhead, who had gotten into his good books by taking over the computer classes after Ms. Calendar's unfortunate demise.  
  
"I'm all ready, no classes until this afternoon," Willow said.  
  
Snyder nodded. "Then I suggest you head to your homeroom and do student-like things." His hard eyes bore into he two and they darted for the doorway, eager to escape.  
  
"I hate him," Buffy muttered.  
  
"I think the entire school shares the shares the sentiment," Willow said. She glanced at her watch. "Well, Snyder managed to help us while our spare time away. We'd better get to class unless we want to get a detention."  
  
"Just let me grab my books out of my locker," Buffy said, and proceeded to do so. Her backpack seemed heavier then she was used to, and she wondered if this was what being ordinary meant. It seemed like forever since she had been Called to be the Slayer, and she had forgotten what being average meant.  
  
She didn't like it.  
  
The two girls went into class together, sliding into their seats. "I wonder if she's coming today," Buffy whispered to Willow, not needing to state which person she was talking about.  
  
Buffy and Willow stared at the empty seat. "Now that her boyfriend's been revealed, she probably went into hiding," Willow answered, fidgeting with her pencil.  
  
The bell rang, and Buffy nodded, momentarily forgetting that Usagi had been late the day before. Parnell started to take role, but was interrupted by a loud clanging from the door. His eyes widened as Usagi came rushing in, repeating yesterday's performance. Sean got his feet out of the way in time, but the girl who sat in front of him, Aurora Langley, didn't. Usagi managed an amazingly incredible somersault as she stumbled on the strap of Aurora's backpack. This time she rolled to a stop at the seat she had been assigned.   
  
"Tsukino Usagi, present!" she said, standing up and bowing slightly. "My apologies for being late!"   
The class tittered.  
  
"Um... just don't do it again," the flustered teacher answered.  
  
She rewarded him with a beatific smile as she took her seat. "Thank you, sensei!"  
  
"I can't believe she showed up!" Willow said in shock.  
  
"Maybe she's not a creepy crawly?" Xander suggested, earning himself a glare from Buffy.   
  
"She was with the man who managed to strip Buffy of her powers. I say it's definitely on the creepy crawly scale of possibility," Willow said.  
  
"She's a babe... what kind of creepy crawly looks like that?"   
  
"Inca Mummy Girl," Willow said just as Buffy said, "Insect Teacher."  
  
Xander groaned and rested his head in his hands. "You two are horrible to me."  
  
"You just have really bad taste in women," Willow said lightly.  
  
"Too bad that one's taken by her Mamo-chan... or Endymion... wanna bet that's she's the girl with the wings, that Sailor Moon?" Buffy whispered back.  
  
"I bet-" Xander started, but was interrupted the sounds of someone clearing their throat.   
  
"Class is starting now... you'd be wise to pay attention, Mr. Harris, considering what your last test results were," Mr. Parnell said, picking up a piece of chalk and turning to the blackboard.  
  
Xander sank down in his chair, wishing the Hellmouth would open up and swallow him whole.   
  
~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Classes dragged that day. Buffy was never the most attentive of students, but all she could do was watch Usagi through narrowed eyes, ignoring whatever her teachers said.  
  
She didn't particular care. She'd get Giles or Willow to help her later- they were more interested in helping her do well then her teachers were. Sunnydale suffered from serious teacher apathy. Most of the teachers were busy sending out job applications to schools with lower body counts to really give a damn about disinterested students.  
  
Usagi seemed to be dividing her   
  
  
Buffy's temper was frayed at best. Reaching out, she grabbed one of Usagi's long ponytails and YANKED. The little blonde yowled as she was dragged into the library.  
  
"OUCH!" she yelled as the doors swung shut behind them.  
  
Buffy had little sympathy. "All right, tell me exactly what you are, and what Endymion did to me."  
  
Usagi blinked, and then gave her a smile that would have made an airhead wince. "Who's Endymion?" she asked innocently.  
  
Buffy slammed Usagi into the desk, knocking several books off of it. "Don't play stupid. You were there last night in that graveyard. He carried you off after doing something with my Slayer abilities, and I need them back! We're on the Hellmouth, and there's some very bad stuff going on. I can't fight it without my strength!"  
  
She grabbed Usagi's shirt in anger, clenching it tightly. She was ready to kill the blonde if that's what it took- people were depending on her.  
  
The doors to the library swung open, and Willow and Xander came in. Willow was holding a heavy sack of schoolbooks, which she promptly dropped on her feet in surprise when she saw the scene. "Ouch!" she yelped, bouncing up and down like a wounded ferret.  
  
The surprise caused Buffy to lose her grip on Usagi, who took the opportunity to skitter backwards and over the desk. The blonde peeked over a stack of books in the to-be-shelved pile, her eyes confused. "Why are you so angry?" she asked.   
  
"Your boyfriend, last night!" Buffy snapped. "Last night!"  
  
"I have no-" Usagi began, but her eyes were twitching. She was a rotten liar.   
  
Buffy snarled and made a grab for the girl. Had she still been the Slayer, she would have easily caught Usagi. The Japanese girl easily evaded her clumsy lunge. "Stop lying to me!"  
  
Usagi looked slightly concerned. "Um, this may not be the best place to talk about it..."   
  
"No one ever comes to the library," Xander chimed in, hoping to hear the story, and perhaps trying to keep Buffy from committing homicide. "No one will hear."  
  
Usagi looked at the other two. "You were there last night, too."  
  
"You were dressed up as Sailor Moon?" Willow asked.  
  
Usagi seemed to weigh the three of them with her eyes, casting measuring glances at simmering Buffy, confused Willow, and eager Xander before deciding they were worth trusting. "Yes," she said very softly.  
  
"Cool!" Willow said, lighting up. "You were doing that neat magic- I have an interest, but I only dabble- I'm not really good. Are you a full-blown witch?"  
  
Usagi blinked. "Um... no?" She seemed confused.  
  
"Well, I thought you might be, since I didn't recognize you. I thought you might be using a disguise spell of some sort, and since you were throwing magic bolts, and casting simultaneous spells is really hard, I thought-"  
  
"Willow, you're babbling," Buffy cut in. "Your precious Mamo-chan managed to take my Slayer abilities, and I want to know why."  
  
"You threatened me. That's one thing he won't tolerate."  
  
"You were using magic. Slayer instinct- unknown person starts casting magic, Slayer attacks. It's in the handbook."  
  
"Mamo-chan is very angry with you," Usagi whispered, looking down at her little feet. "I haven't seen him so angry since... well, I can't remember him ever being so mad."  
  
"How did he do it?" Willow wanted to know.   
  
Usagi expression showed her genuine confusion. "Do what?"  
  
"Remove my strength?" Buffy wanted to know.  
  
"I don't really know. It has something to do with his past life, when he was Endymion and I was Serenity," she said. "Ami-chan would know better then me. Maybe Giles-sensei knows."  
  
"Giles isn't around today," Xander informed her. "He was a gibbering idiot when I left him to go home."  
  
Usagi chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "He knew him," she said softly. "Mamo-chan knew Giles-sensei, or at least what he was."  
  
"He also knew what I was," Buffy snapped back, "and somehow he stole my powers. And I want them back. I'm the Slayer- it's part of who I am."   
  
Usagi stared back at her. "Yes... I understand," she said softly.  
  
"No- I don't think you do," Buffy growled, staring at the other girl with an intensity that was downright terrifying. "I am going to be the Slayer again- or else there's going to be hell to pay, and you'll be the one to pay it."  
  
!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!*!  
  
Up Next:  
Part Five: Darkness  
  
A few different ways I can go with this- depends on how long the part IS....   
  
Feedback is a good thing. 


End file.
